The centre gives customers hands-on, real-time insights into how to meet their business needs, and does so through the relentless implementation of packaging and service innovations. It follows the opening in 2012 of the first UK experience centre in Yate, south-west England.
Working with the Smurfit Kappa team, visitors to the Mold Experience Centre will be able to immerse themselves in the latest insights and experience first-hand the latest in packaging and service innovation. The centre is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and tools, such as Virtual Store, Retail Insight Centre, Shelf Viewer and a full screen cinema room.
The Mold centre is the latest in a series of centres that have opened across Europe as part of Smurfit Kappa’s ’Open the future’ global brand strategy. Aimed at delivering customer growth through insight and innovation, the strategy is also being used to aid brands battling to win the First Moment of Truth, where shoppers choose one brand over another.
According to analysis revealed in the Smurfit Kappa report ‘Marketing on the shelf – exactly how in control are you?’, up to 40% of a product viewed on-shelf can be made up of secondary packaging, a valuable marketing channel which too often falls outside the radar of brand teams.
Arco Berkenbosch, vice president marketing, research and development at Smurfit Kappa, said: “These centres are an innovative and refreshing environment where we want to invite our customers to inspire them and show them first-hand how we can help them to be even more successful in their respective markets.”
“By opening the centre in Mold we are able to offer a localised service that supports businesses based around the region. Visiting the experience centre will create a situation where we can clearly define our customers’ needs in the world where our customers are operating,” added Phil Husband, Smurfit Kappa UK packaging development manager.
Smurfit Kappa’s two UK Experience Centres join a network being rolled out in Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Ireland and Spain. The hub, one of the largest packaging experience centres in the world, is due to open in spring 2015 at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
Berkenbosch added: “These centres enable us to share our global expertise at a local level directly to the customer. They can then evaluate, tailor and test the packaging in the centre, before any financial investment has been made.”
